We received, what I believe, is one of the nicest compliments ever, just the other day. Friends of ours, rather 'new' friends, invited us over for dinner and a play date with Big Boy's BFF. These two boys get along famously and we, as parents, do as well. We've really grown fond of the whole family. And they paid us the nicest compliment the other day. We had not seen them for about 2 weeks, because of back-to-back vacations for them and us. When we saw them, both of our boys ran up to hug the mom and dad, before running to play with the boy. They were very excited to see everyone, parents as well as the boys. And that was the compliment. The mom, my friend, noticed how friendly our boys are to them, as parents. They were genuinely excited to see both the mom and dad. And she noticed that particular quality. "They are always so excited to see us as well as our son. That is wonderful!" she stated. And, though I had not really noticed, it didn't surprise me. Our children are expected to greet both adult and children, everyone who is in the room or in the family, when we visit other families. We see it as a sign of respect. And from the time they were capable of waving hi or blowing a kiss, we've encouraged them to greet our guests and say goodbye when they were leaving. It never occurred to us that it was a "novelty" but now we have noticed that not all kids are taught this. But we have always made it an expectation and it comes very naturally at this point. And it was so nice to have someone notice. Raising polite and respectful children is high on our list of priorities. We spend a great deal of time talking to them and demonstrating to them, how to be respectful to others. They watch us so closely and it is necessary to show them how to be respectful, as well as openly discussing respect. We identify how others are not kind or respectful, when we see it. Big Boy has gotten quite astute at picking these things up and talks about it often. That is What Works For Us---raising polite, respectful kids. And how wonderful that it is starting to show!
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4 comments:
Good for you! Being polite and well-mannered is very difficult these days.
You go, girl. Mannerly kids are hard to come by these days...
:)
Yes ma'am polite kids are a rare find these days.
My own kids (now all teenagers) are a joy to go anywhere with. They have the best manners and have not had a choice otherwise. My husband has been a pastor for most of their lives. Being respectful and kind to other's has been part of their lifestyle.
I still love it when a school staff person finds out I'm "the mom" to one of them. I hear the sweetest compliments everytime.
We used a little teaching method that really helped us when they were younger. It's called.....teaching them the VALUE of other's!
Simple huh?
This is a good reminder. I do believe that the earlier they get this the better. It's great to see they already have made it a habit! Thanks for linking! Enjoy your weekend~
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